Cross His Path
by Carlain
Summary: Fate decides to play an unpredictable game of chess with Alya when she is presented with the identity of Cat Noir. Playing by her own rules proves to be very challenging, as she strays from the trail she knew, into the unknown territory. Season 2 divergent.
1. Chapter 1: Black cat crossing her path

When Alya arrived at the Grand Hotel, a small crowd of onlookers had formed in front ofthe main gate. The tension floating in the air could be clearly felt and excited whispers from around only added to the heavy atmosphere. Everyone was waiting for something to happen.

From bits of hushed conversations, Alya concluded that Ladybug and Cat Noir were currently fighting an akuma inside the hotel, while its guests were being evacuated. A quick glance at the entrance guarded by a police officer and she knew she couldn't sneak in unnoticed. The policeman didn't look like he would let her in if she told him she needed to get footage for her blog. She was not discouraged by this and immediately started scanning her surrounding, looking for another way in.

Before she could form a plan, the silence was pierced by the sound of a shattering glass. The akuma jumped through the window breaking the pane in the process. The crowd gasped, immobilized by the sight while Alya quickly turned on her camera, moving closer to get a clearer shot. It was a splendid decision as just a second later, both Paris's heroes flew after their opponent, landing right beside the blogger. What happened next resembled a scene from a movie, where foes exchanged series of kicks and punches, not backing down for even a moment.

Alya gripped her phone tightly, trying to keep up with the fight that took place right in front of her eyes. She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins, her heart beating faster and faster in excitement. This was good. She focused on filming, not providing any of her usual commentary. She reckoned as Ladybug dodged a very nasty blow to her face, that such a spectacle didn't need any comments to be appreciated. The silent crowd around her seemed to be in agreement, as people kept staring at the combat, completely speechless.

"Cat, keep him busy while I try to immobilize him!" Ladybug shouted to her companion who saluted and charged at their enemy at full speed.

The akuma twirled out of the hero's way, kicking his leg to the side and hoping to catch Cat Noir off balance. Superhero, however, jumped over his opponent and proceeded to deliver quick blows to his chest. The akumatized citizen had no choice but to retreat under the constant attacks sent his way. Backing slowly, careful not to let Cat Noir hit him, he completely missed a yo-yo flying towards him, noticing it only after it was wrapped tightly around his wrists, effectively clasping them. When it seemed like Ladybug got an upper hand and a few cheers from the onlookers could be heard, the akuma used heroine's yo-yo to throw her over his head. The momentum gained from the movement helped him to set his wrists free quickly enough to parry Cat's attack with a heavy punch to hero's head.

The sound of akuma's fist colliding with superhero's skull made Alya wince. That one must have hurt like hell. She didn't have time to appraise the damage that Cat Noir took as the villain threw a few small balls towards the crowd of civilians. The next thing she heard was an explosion, which impact knocked the blogger down. She half expected the hotel to collapse and rubble to fall down on her head. Feeling a little dizzy and overwhelmed, she opened her eyes only to find that the explosion didn't cause any harm, neither to people nor to buildings around. So it's aim was more to create a distraction than to seriously hurt anybody, the teenager thought, trying to stand up. Her legs were shaking like a jelly and refused to hold Alya in a standing position. Before she landed on her butt, strong arms caught her and she found herself staring into the blue sky that were the eyes of Ladybug.

"It's you again." The heroine sighed tightening her grip around the blogger to steady her shaking body. "I told you to not to follow us, didn't I?"

Before the fight moved to the Grand Hotel, Paris's favorite duo had been taking the akuma on near Louvre. Even then their battle had been heated and got more intense with every second. As always, Alya had appeared, out of breath but ready to obtain an action- packed footage for Ladyblog. She had stubbornly chased after them and unintentionally had been hindering their job of defeating the new henchman of Hawkmoth. When she had almost got hit by the door pulled out from the car, Ladybug had decided that she had had enough fun. She had wrapped her yo-yo around Alya's ankle and had taken her out of harm's way, carrying the blogger a few streets away and had left her there with a short 'Don't you dare follow me'. Even so, Alya wouldn't be herself if she had obediently stayed away from the fight.

"I'm just really persistent." The teenager shrugged grinning brightly at her personal hero.

"That you are." Ladybug agreed, shaking her head in disbelief at Alya's annoying tendency to put herself in danger in the name of getting new videos.

"So what's up with today's villain? Not very talkative, is he?" The blogger reeled up to superheroine, quick to avert the subject from herself.

"He seems to be some sort of agent, like the ones in the movies. Noticed how he keeps throwing different gizmos at us?"

The exploding spheres were not the only gadgets the akuma had been using during the fight. He had a staff similar to Cat's and particularly annoying mini boomerangs, that you couldn't get rid off.

"Now that you mention it, he even looks like some super spy... Or the really bad imitation of Batman." Alya smirked remembering villain's clothes that were a weird combination of dark blue spandex and black formal suit.

"James Bond he is not. Not even if you squint." Ladybug sighed dramatically, making blogger giggle. "It would be so much cooler if he looked the part, then I could brag I defeated a legendary 007!"

Once again Alya was impressed by heroine's unwavering confidence, by the strength inside her that could be felt through the way she talked, the way she held herself: proud and unyielding. The whole Paris had put its trust in Ladybug but it was not only because of her power to fight the evil forces. Her strong presence was like a promise that everything would turn out just fine. Lady Luck possessed the ability to calm the hearts of citizens, to banish the fear creeping inside them whenever Hawkmoth attacked.

Alya was aware of the fact that she was gawking at Ladybug and she desperately wanted to say something: something witty with her usual dose of humor. She wanted to assure the heroine that defeating any secret agent was not necessary for her to be, well, the coolest. Sadly, nothing but the unintelligible murmur came out of blogger's mouth.

"Hey, sorry to intrude, you ladies, on this fascinating akuma gossip, but our Mr. Smith is getting away."

Girls turned to see Cat Noir with a slightly annoyed expression, rubbing his forehead, which probably still hurt from the previous blow. He looked like he would take a great pleasure in scratching the akuma's face.

Ladybug let go of Alya slowly, making sure the blogger could support herself on the nearest bench. She titled her head, smirking at Cat's unusual demeanor.

"Well then Kitty, why are you still here when our target is at large?"

"My Lady, I am not the one who was chattering happily about trends in akuma fashion."

Torn between the feeling of happiness and a slight guilt of enjoying the bickering between the two heroes, Alya wondered whether it counted as a marital fight. She certainly hoped it did.

If it wasn't for the thirst for a new footage, Alya's inner fan girl would let the situation unfold freely, gladly observing a show provided by Paris's defendants. So instead of adding more fuel to the fire, she copied Cat's words from before:

"Sorry to intrude, you lovebirds, on this couple's argument, but weren't you kind of chasing our villain of the name unknown?"

That worked like a bucket of cold water. Both heroes fell silent and looked at Alya as if she was the strangest creature in the whole wide world. The small difference in the looks they were giving her was that Ladybug appeared to be flabbergasted at the insinuation while Cat Noir seemed almost embarrassed.

Grinning cheekily, Alya exclaimed, "Why don't you provide me with more kick-ass footage and we can come back to flirting later?"

Sobering from the shock, Ladybug made a face and said with some sort of satisfaction, "I don't think your legs will be taking you anywhere anytime soon."

At that comment, Alya tried to protest but now that the adrenaline was leaving her body, her legs seemed to be even more unstable. She tried to take a step forward but the movement was unsteady and she had to grab Ladybug's arm to prevent herself from falling down.

"We'll be going ahead." The heroine winked at Alya, freeing herself from blogger's grasp. "Don't follow us!"

With that the superhero duo renewed their chase after akuma, quickly disappearing among numerous buildings. Alya was left with the rest of the onlookers, feeling like she lost her chance at getting a big scoop. Yet again.

 **xxx**

Her fingers ran furiously over a keyboard as she typed the rest of a post for the Ladyblog. In the end, she didn't get anymore footage from the fight. Still, what she had managed to obtain beforehand was enough to publish on her blog.

Of course, after being left behind by Ladybug and Cat Noir, she hadn't just given up on the chase of her own. She had needed some time to catch her breath and force her brain to work again.

She had been caught by surprise, when a taxi driver had approached her, offering to give a free ride. Seeing Alya's open astonishment, he presented her with a small smile. "You're an author of the Ladyblog, right? My daughters love watching your videos."

That statement, although a major ego boost, had made the teenager feel confused and tense. Deciding to think about it later, she had taken the taxi driver up on the offer as her body still had refused to move properly.

Although they had been stuck in the traffic for at least fifteen minutes and ultimately, missed the rest of the fight against akuma, Alya had acquired a new, valuable acquaintance. The man had turned out to be a very devoted father, who had had let himself be dragged into superheroes obsession by his two daughters. A loving parent and a fellow Ladybug fan: for Alya, the man couldn't get any cooler.

The blogger made sure to mention her new friend in the post, relating their epic car pursuit and leaving him and his daughters a shout out. If she had such great fans she had to make them feel appreciated.

"Aaaand... Done!" She exclaimed happily raising her hands in the air.

Another post uploaded to the Ladyblog, another job well done.

"Knock knock." Her mother said to make her presence known while opening the door to her room. "How was your day, Honey?"

Alya looked up from her laptop. Marlena was smiling at her, but the fatigue on her face was evident. Another busy day. Despite her constant tiredness she still devoted her free time to her imperfect family, no matter how hard work had been on her, no matter how much she wanted to lay down and rest. Every single day she would talk with her daughters, hear their troubles and worries out. Always putting them before herself. They were the reason she worked so hard in the first place.

Since Otis had started living with them, it gradually got easier. Even when the twins appeared, their situation had already been stable enough. Some habits, however, died hard and Marlena still felt the obligation to work just as much as she had during the time it had only been the two of them.

Alya wished her mother would devote more time to her own needs. Seeing her with bags under her eyes caused blogger's insides to squeeze painfully.

"I prevented every coup d'état my little underlings planned, so today counts as a successful day."

Alya grinned hearing her mother laugh.

"Are you still playing this weird game? I'm surprised your sisters haven't given up yet!"

To introduce order in the house, Alya had thought of a game she could play with her younger sisters. She had declared herself the Empress and them a special unit of the Resistance, which goal was to overthrow her. As a rule of the game, for however long was she the sovereign they had to do whatever they were told.

What seemed like a brilliant idea had turned into an uncontrolled chaos. Little demons with enormous imagination had taken the word 'overthrow' a little too literally. A bruised knee Alya had acquired was not the only war casualty: since that time their house had lacked vases and the table almost had been burned. This occurrence called for tightening the rules, which meant: no breaking tools, utensils and other things, no playing with matches, no violence and most importantly no pushing your sister down from a chair.

To overthrow the Empress, girls now had to grab the flag that Alya put in her room. It minimized the risk of burning the house down. At least for the time being.

"I'm keeping them busy with tasks so they don't get bored" she shrugged.

"More like you turned them into your personal servants" Marlena teased, her smile getting bigger.

"Hey! Not my fault I get thirsty when I write! They should be grateful to have an honor of bringing me my afternoon tea." Alya said pretending to be deeply offended.

Her mom laughed again and patted her head lightly.

"You should take acting classes. You'd put all the actors to shame."

"Not interested. I'm already too amazing for this world to handle."

Marlene smiled slightly but then rubbed her eyes "I'm going to check on the Resistance, I hope they didn't set anything on fire."

Alya laughed nervously as she watched her mother leave. If only she knew how right she was...

Well, it was better for her health not to be aware of the twins' pyromaniac impulses.

 **xxx**

Etta and Ella were singing a theme song of a cartoon called 'Madeline', which Alya grew up on. She had introduced her sisters to the world of a cheerful redhead some time ago and ever since the three of them had been bursting into its opening song at most random times: during a dinner at the restaurant or when they were brushing their teeth (this usually ended with toothpaste all over the mirror and pajamas).

As Alya had promised, they were walking to the cinema to watch the newest animated movie. The twins were not the only ones exited to see the cartoon, their older sister was just as keen as ever.

"She's Madeline, she's Madeline, dum dee dum dee" the blogger expressed her happiness by trying to sing bass, which she clearly failed, much to twins' delight.

"You sound like a coughing orca."

The comment, which sent Etta and Ella into a series of giggles, was uttered by no one else but Mylene Haprele. She was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes shining with mirth, her posture opened, free of the usual tension and shyness. Even her outfit was nothing like the ones she wore to school: she went with denim short dungarees, pastel pink top, and white sneakers. Her normal bandanna was replaced with the white one, but the pin she had got from Ivan was still there.

Mylene had been waiting for Cesaire sisters near the entrance to the cinema. She and Alya became quite close, probably close enough to count each other as friends. They had bonded over mutual taste in movies and had been going to the cinema together since then. Later on, Mylene started to take her classmate to the theater whenever her father gave her free tickets to see a play.

"We thought she sounds more like a goose!" Etta exclaimed, rushing to hug Mylene, followed closely by her twin.

"A very, very ill goose!" Ella added, making the three girls laugh wholeheartedly.

Alya faked being hurt, wiping an imaginary tear from her cheek. "I'm feeling very attacked!" She regarded her friend carefully, taking notice of her unusual outfit. "Looking good, by the way! Those dungarees are right on point, girl!"

Smiling a tad timidly, Mylene thanked for the compliment. "Actually, it's one of Marinette's suggestions. She called a fashion emergency and we went shopping to get some new clothes for her." She admitted, suddenly self-conscious.

Alya felt an enormous pride growing in her chest. Her best friend definitely had a great fashion sense and knew just what kind of outfit would emphasize the beauty of a person. Without a doubt, Marinette was going to become a successful designer one day.

"Let me guess, she talked you into trying bazillion of different things and didn't stop nagging until you bought something? Classic Marinette." The blogger smiled fondly, knowing very well how shopping trips with her friend looked like.

"Yeah. And that bandanna is her work." Mylene glanced at her phone to check the time. "We should go inside, the movie is starting soon."

The twins positioned themselves so Mylene was standing between them, they grabbed her hands and started walking eagerly towards the cinema. Alya tagged after them, ready to get a place in the queue for a pack of popcorn.

 **xxx**

The movie turned out to be great. The Cesaire-Haprele squad had gotten a little too much into watching it and had annoyed the rest of the audience with their loud, animated reactions. It was difficult to settle who had enjoyed the cartoon more, the younger or the older half of their group.

"I declare the replay of today's excursion! This movie was amazing!" Mylene's exclamation was met with twin's eager cheers. "What do you think, Alya?"

The blogger, who had been just as excited as other girls, was suddenly distracted by the post about the current fight against akuma. Another attack, so soon after the last one. Hawkmoth had been getting desperate lately as his plans never seemed to play out according to his scenario.

Alya knew she shouldn't be as euphoric as she was about it, but a new footage couldn't be obtained without a constant appearance of villains. So in her heart of hearts, she was highly supportive of Hawkmoth's actions. Unless they were related to Ancient Egypt.

The fight was taking place near Eiffel Tower, not that far from the cinema. If she took a bus, then ran through the shortcut, she should be able to get enough material for a new video.

Being so focused on the plan forming in her head, Alya didn't watch where she was going until she collided with someone. She managed to keep her balance but some of the popcorn the person had been holding, had been scattered to the floor.

Before she managed to apologize, the victim of her absent-mindedness spoke flatly. "You're a danger to the public. Do society a favor by investing in new glasses."

Had that sentence been delivered in a different tone, it could have been seen as an attempt of humor in the awkward situation. However, it was said in such a dull, unamused voice that no one could have mistaken it with an effort to ease the growing tension.

Blinking at the boy she had bumped into, Alya felt anger rising inside her, hot and forceful like fire. She was so ready to mop the floor with him and his mess of curly hair.

"My sight is just fine, thank you very much. Why don't you look where you're -" her retort was cut by the boy's annoyed sigh.

"You're wasting my time." He turned and walked away, murmuring something under his breath.

In. Out. Breathe slowly, don't shout after him, Alya instructed herself, not wanting to cause another scene. Despite the way she held herself, she was never the one to marvel at unnecessary attention.

But To think that such a rude person would have had the exact same t-shirt like Nino. She was going to force him to get rid of that thing later!

"You know it was your fault, right?" Mylene, the voice of reason, had to break what was left of blogger's composure.

"He had been given a pair of eyes. He could have used them to bypass me!"

"He had been standing in the corner until you walked into him." the blonde summarized what had happened, but her intention was not to aggravate her friend. She raised her hands in a conciliatory manner. "He didn't have to be rude, though."

Knowing their sister enough to see that her irritation was not going away, the twins steered the conversation to different areas, ironically, showing the most maturity.

The combo of puppy eyes directed at Alya, combined with an annoyingly high, pleading voice and they were ready. "Let's go for ice creams! You promised us ice creams!"

When it seemed like the blogger's fury would shift towards her younger sisters, it disappeared like it was never there, chased away by the sudden realization of the fact that she was squandering another chance of getting amazing footage.

Unknowingly to herself, she mimicked the twin's imploring expression. "Mylene... Can you three go to the ice cream parlor without me? I need -"

The shorter girl raised her hand, to interrupt her friend's explanation. "Yes, yes. You have to go, catch the scoop, let your journalistic soul fly and all that jazz. We get it. Just remember you're paying for ice creams."

"Deal!" Alya agreed, knowing that she would have to spend all of her allowances, she waved a goodbye and dashed out, her thoughts already with Paris's superheroes.

She ran as fast as she could, yet she maneuvered carefully around people, not keen to repeat the situation from just a moment before. All caution, however, was cast aside when she almost let herself been hit by the car, just to catch the bus in time.

The bus ride seemed to be dragging on ruthlessly, causing blogger's temper to rise over an over again. Cursed would be cars and traffic jams, that kept her away from Ladybug's accomplishments.

Alya stared at her phone to check the status of the fight when the notification of the successfully defeated akuma came. "Just perfect!" She murmured to herself sarcastically.

Disappointment filled her and she succumbed herself to a moment of discouragement, so atypical for the blogger. The more she cared about something the more it hurt to fail.

She got off the bus, grasping the last ray of hope of catching one of the fleeing superheroes. As if to answer her prayers, Cat Noir could be seen, jumping from one rooftop to another, in impossibly long leaps.

Bitter feelings long-forgotten, Alya gather herself and sprinted after the hero in black, trying hard not to loose him from sight. She saw him disappear into one of the less crowded alleys, her focused had increased and so she didn't miss his sudden change of directions.

Reaching her destination, she noticed a faint, green light but otherwise no one could be seen. No one but Adrien Agreste, standing in the middle of the alley, were Cat Noir should have been.

While Alya's brain was busy processing the situation and placing information together, the blonde boy turned around and his face assumed the expression of sheer horror. He stared at his classmate, wondering what she had witnessed, how much she knew. Her silence only made him more uneasy and terrified.

Gulping, he approached her, his lips contorted into the clumsy imitation of his usual smile. "Alya! What a surprise! What are you doing here?" Adrien said, trying to play it cool, but it came out awkward.

Noticing the way she was gaping at him, with eyes wide open, confused yet curious, he was no longer under the illusion that she saw nothing. He could almost hear cogs inside her brain turning, calculating, assessing him.

And so he panicked.

He ran not looking back, not sparing a glance even when he heard his classmate shout something after him. He dashed, trying to outrun the reality, the fear that seemed to consume his whole body.

Left alone in the empty alley, Alya overcame the first dose of astonishment, all puzzles finally settling in adequate places. She felt excitement bubbling inside her, rising like a wave, making her restless. Her mind was replaying one sentence over and over:

Adrien Agreste is Cat Noir.

* * *

Author's Note:

Please note that I am not the native English speaker, and so this story may contain mistakes.

I am aware that the main idea for this story is far from original, still I hope that you are going to find the rest of the plot much more interesting.

Thank you for reading and have a good day!


	2. Chapter 2: Cat on the hot tin roof

Adrien felt restless. For the first time, his room seemed small and cramped, like there was no space for him to breathe. He had been pacing up and down for at least an hour, occasionally stopping to grab his head in frustration, or to look up hopelessly at the ceiling, as if it held remedies to his worries.

His actions drove Plagg insane.

But what irritated cat kwami even more, was his compulsive checking of the phone for any new notification from the Ladyblog. When the model saw nothing, he would sigh in relief, exhaling the breath he was holding. He would then proceed with his nervous pacing, his strides getting quicker with every phone checking.

Adrien had been a Ladyblog follower since the day one, had read every post that Alya had created, had watched every video at least once. The new content on his classmate's blog always brightened up his day, chasing the dark clouds away, that accumulated because of stress and another disappointment he had to come to terms with. It made him feel closer to Ladybug, even though he could not be beside her.

She was the reason why he had started following Alya's blog in the first place. His motives were far from altruistic, however, and definitely didn't come from the goodness of his heart, or the need to support his classmate's passion. Neither he took any pleasure in seeing people gawk at him, he had enough of that already. Rather than that, discovering more about His Lady was what interested him.

To his great surprise and amazement, the blogger possessed the ability and wit to extract the side of Paris's heroine, even Cat Noir couldn't. With Alya, she got playful, chatty, open and welcoming. Ladybug took her responsibilities as a superheroine very seriously, she cared about the citizens and their safety so every reckless leap in the middle of the danger from the blogger (he actually admired her guts), should make her blood boil with anger and exasperation. But he knew that behavior was just an act.

Even though, Lady Luck would roll her eyes, would answer as if she thought Alya was the biggest pain in the world, her actions suggested otherwise. Adrien saw the look in her eyes whenever she was talking to the blogger, saw the fondness, the mirth, the mixture of conflicted emotions. He noticed the tiniest smiles of affection, that dared to break free from her control, the contrast between her harsh tone and her body language, suggesting a certain sentiment towards Alya.

He had never been graced with a similar reaction.

Adrien was very aware of that fact, and it made him fall into the embrace of this hideous, heavy feeling that crept around the corners of his mind, squashing painfully his insides. The feeling he rarely had to deal with.

From what he had learned about Alya these past few months, it was obvious that she was not the one to give up easily. She held her passion dear to her heart, deriving energy and motivation from it, pushing her own limits to get what she wanted. And most of the time she was after the new footage, after an astonishing scoop. When she acquired it, she made it known to the whole Paris through her blog.

She was the last person Adrien would like to learn his secret.

But the reality had no mercy for the weak, and never for himself as he had learned from the young age. Now that Alya found out his secret identity, she would expose him to the world, making it impossible for him to live a normal life, outside the walls of this house, that suffocated him and his happiness.

What would his father think if he knew his son was a superhero? The part of Adrien, the one that had been crushed and silenced long ago, wished he would be proud of him, would smile at him with love and joy. God, what the model wouldn't give to see approval in his parent's eyes.

Despite his occasional naivety, he was not that ingenuous to believe that his father would accept his alter ego. Gabriel Agreste would rather lock Adrien up in the cage than let his son continue the potentially lethal mission entrusted to him.

Adrien quickened his pace again, not minding the pain in his legs and spine. He checked the Ladyblog again, but there was nothing new. No photo, no short announcement, no video.

He pulled his hair back, shook his head, and began his thousand lap around the room. Why hadn't Alya written anything yet? She was always so quick to act, why would she torture him with suspense?

"Would you stop it already? I can't eat when you're acting like a startled sheep!" said Plagg in his bored, slightly annoyed tone, not being able to stand his Chosen's antics anymore.

Adrien stopped his nervous pacing, turning to face the kwami, his eyes wide, filled with fright. "How can you be so calm about this?! Don't you see I screwed up? Any minute now Alya will announce to the whole Paris that I am Cat Noir! My life is over, Plagg!"

The cat kwami remained indifferent to Adrien's overdramatic hysteria, he changed his position to the more comfortable one, swallowed a piece of Camembert, and reached out for another snack.

"If she wanted to make a post about you, she would have done that by now, wouldn't she?" Plagg pointed out, stuffing more cheese in his mouth. "Besides, you don't really know whether she saw you detransfrom. You may be panicking over nothing."

That statement stilled Adrien, making him dwell on the situation at hand from the different approach. "Do you really think she doesn't know?"

Plagg shrugged his tiny shoulders, "I'm just saying that your suspicious behavior might have given her stupid ideas. If you're that worried, go talk to her, find out what she saw. Just stop being the bundle of nerves. It's not like you are the first, whose identity has been compromised..."

The kwami suddenly paused, his words hanging in the air like an omen from the past, indicating the hidden message behind them.

Adrien blinked, taken aback. "There were other miraculous holders who failed just like me?"

The silence that came next was long and heavy, filled with anxious waiting. Plagg seemed to be thinking about something very hard. He took a bite of a Camembert, shrugging.

"Nah. Probably not. I just said that." He finally spoke nonchalantly, not knowing how his words would affect the boy.

Adrien became pale like a ghost, a certain realization hitting him. If Plagg, the most aloof creature on Earth, was trying to console him it meant his blunder had much more acute consequences than he had anticipated.

He buried his face in his hands, his body started to shake uncontrollably. "I knew it! I am a failure after all!"

Plagg abandoned his cheese, and flew up to the blonde, wondering how to cheer him up, but nothing came to his mind. He sighed, heading towards the kitchen to bring back some chocolate for Adrien and more cheese for himself. They would need a fuel to survive the night.

 **xxx**

The night air was cold, and the wind was chilling the warmth-loving kwami to the bone. He was sitting on the parapet of the Pont Neuf, yawning loudly, and awaiting the arrival of his old friend.

Adrien had been worrying for at least half of the night until he finally gave in to his exhaustion, and fell asleep. Plagg's efforts to ease his Chosen's mind had had no effect whatsoever. Why had he been entrusted with such a troublesome boy? For once, he would like to watch over a more happy-go-lucky type of the miraculous holder. Someone similar to himself, who didn't get overly emotional about occasional hiccups along the way.

Despite his composed facade, the cat kwami was not as at peace with the whole situation as he seemed to be. After Adrien had fallen in the arms of Morpheus, Plagg had been staring into the night sky, rethinking today's events, not able to rest calmly. That's why he had decided to contact Wayzz.

As a guardian kwami, Wayzz was graced with the ability to locate auras of the other kwamis, which could reach out to him telepathically, when faced with critical conditions. That connection, however, was not to be abused, as the mental communication caused a great strain to their little bodies, impeding their powers.

Plagg had never been keen to rely on the turtle kwami, or to ask him for advice - it seemed too wearying and bothersome to do so. Not to mention, he would rather fast from cheese for a whole long week, than admit that he was having troubles handling his Chosen. He did not look like that, but he had a certain pride in himself, that refused to declare defeat.

But the growing worry after he had seen Adrien's pale, fearful face, caused him to turn to the Guardian's supervisor for help.

"It seems the cat's out of the bag, doesn't it?"

A soft, quiet voice woke Plagg from his musing, making him look up to see his green friend.

The black kwami scoffed, disgusted at Wayzz's attempt of a joke. "So funny. Like I didn't have to endure Adrien's daily dose of cat puns already."

His statement was met with a low salvo of laughter. "You have always complained about yours Chosens' lack of sense of humor."

Plagg didn't answer, his expression grim, not in the mood for a small talk. He kept staring into the dark nothingness of the river, his ears down, mimicking his resignation.

Sighing quietly, Wayzz sat beside his friend, his tiny hands supporting his head. He was not the one to fill the silence with unnecessary blabbering, nor the one to compel others to share what was on their mind when they were unwilling to. So he did what he had always done in similar situations: he waited. He waited patiently, his silent, steady presence varying the atmosphere, spreading over Plagg's tired nerves, calming them like a lotion applied on a burning wound.

The silence was stretching endlessly, yet Wayzz, being the epitome of forbearance, did not hasten the cat kwami. He let the cold wind cover them, dissolve their worries into thin air, and awaited the moment his friend would open up. Finally, Plagg spoke quietly, his voice almost an inaudible murmur:

"Master Fu isn't going to take him away from me, right?"

Wayzz regarded him, his eyes widening in surprise, his antenna straightening and then slumping down, keeping up with his changing emotions. So he was reminded of that time, he thought, suddenly feeling sorry for his friend. Before he could answer, however, the black kwami spoke up again:

"It's not his fault, well, maybe a little. But I should have taken better care of him, should have been more careful..."

Admitting to mistakes was not something that came to Plagg with ease, his pride always getting in a way, along with the conviction that reflecting on your own doings was too troublesome to do on regular basis. Him, acknowledging problems meant he couldn't cope with whatever was on his mind.

"He is not." said Wayzz after a while, causing cat kwami to look up at him. "What happened was unfortunate, but that doesn't mean Adrien is going to be stripped off the right to be the miraculous holder."

The black kwami didn't look convinced. "But we let that blogger girl found out his identity!" He argued, not quiet believing his friend's words. "She can easily expose him!"

"Are you defending him, or trying to get him punished?" Wayzz chuckled wryly, slightly amused in spite of the humorless atmosphere. He exhaled, preparing to beat some senses into his fellow kwami, interrupting him before he could continue to voice his worries.

"I know that with every century it is more and more difficult to adjust our powers to the non-stop changing world, but humans still cannot see our transformation. We are still ahead of them."

"But it works only once, the second time they see it, their brains are already familiar with our powers, and the transformation is no longer invisible to them." Plagg argued, seemingly eager to keep his spirits down. "And there's always someone who isn't tricked by our magic, someone who can see it from the start!"

Wayzz rolled his eyes, wondering whether his cat friend had forgotten that the turtle kwami was the most knowledgeable where their powers where concerned. "And of course, you assume that Alya is that one in a million person."

Plagg looked at him in disbelief. He answered, his words dripping with sarcasm, "You're right, I have absolutely no reason to think that bad luck is on my side."

Sighing, Wayzz admitted, "Master has been keeping an eye on her, and there's no denying the fact that she is an exceptional individual. She possesses so many traits that would make her a splendid hero, yet at the same time some of her characteristics disqualify her as a potential miraculous holder... I wouldn't be surprised if she could see the transformation-" he paused noticing Plagg's triumphant expression.

He held his paw to prevent the cat kwami from speaking, he shook his head, trying to get his thoughts back on track.

"In the end" he began, his voice getting quieter. "Whether she is or not affected by our powers, is irrelevant. What truly matters, is how Adrien will cope with the situation. His worth as the hero is being tested right now." Wayzz put his paw to Plagg's chest, in a gesture of encouragement, the corners of his mouth turning up, offering a small, calming smile. "You know what you ought to do, you just had a moment of weakness and confusion."

He looked straight into black cat's eyes, indicating his honesty through such motion, "You are a capable kwami, have more faith in yourself and your Chosen."

Shock and surprise were first to appear, followed by the embarrassment and a trace of happiness, causing Plagg to lower his gaze.

The silence fell over them again, but this time it was the comforting type of silence, the one that let sort feelings and thoughts out. The cat kwami wanted to ask his friend whether he had tried to contact Nooroo, but assumed that always-thinking-a-few-steps-ahead Wayzz, had already done so, probably without much of a success. The moth kwami was similar to himself, as he never searched for help, stubbornly putting more weight on his shoulders.

Instead, he asked about something completely different: "How did you know the blogger's name?"

Wayzz looked surprised for a brief moment, but quickly recovered, and chuckled. "Master sometimes watches her videos. He loves to make a fuss about his unmatched ability to choose heroes. I think he generally... What's the word? Ah, fangirls over Ladybug and Cat Noir."

The duo fell into a series of loud giggles, their spirits lifting instantly. Wiping off the tears, the turtle kwami proposed eating some cheese together.

"Make it a Camembert, and I will be able to stand your presence a little longer." Plagg answered yawning.

Wayzz rolled his eyes but felt glad that his friend was back to his old self. They got up and flew in the direction of Master Fu's house, ready to clean up his fridge from all the cheese they could find.

 **xxx**

Surreal. That one word could accurately express the state Alya found herself in. From the moment she had been left alone in the alley, she felt as if she was living in a dream - everything around her seemed so blurry and clear at the same time. Her thoughts were piling up, creating a maze of interlaced considerations and ideas that connected in the same spot, into a one-tracked fixation: an identity of Cat Noir.

After the first wave of shock had subsided, Alya had headed to the cafe in order to join her sisters and Mylene. She had paid for the impressive amount of ice creams without complaint, gaining disbelieving looks from other girls by doing so. She had just kept sitting there, a sort of I-know-a-secret-and-you- don't smile on her face, self-satisfaction radiating from her body.

Mylene and twins, although, confused, had decided to just let it go, assuming that they would learn soon enough what got Alya in such high spirits.

As in a daze, steered by the growing excitement, the blogger started writing as soon as she got home. The words were pouring freely from under her fingers, she felt inspired, as if a muse knocked on her window, offering an endless creative flow. The awareness of the incredible scoop on her hands made her type with even more speed than usual. How lucky did she get, stumbling on something so big, right after she had missed another fight with an akuma?

Finally, after constant hunting for new information about Paris's heroes, she had discovered the identity of Cat Noir. Who would have thought it was Adrien Agreste of all people, the genteel well-mannered boy who had been kept under the protective veil all his life. He didn't match the wild image and character of the cat hero at all.

But that was why unraveling secrets appealed to Alya so much. World mysteries rarely were obvious, always leading to unpredictable circumstances and answers. Nothing seemed to give her the same rush of excitement or satisfaction.

The blogger finished writing her post and was just a motion away from shocking the whole world and securing her future, yet a small, almost inaudible voice inside her head stopped her. All exhilaration and enthusiasm gone, replaced with a sudden uneasiness, and she found herself staring at the computer screen.

She wanted to post the news on her blog, she needed to do it. Her whole life she had been living with a conviction that mysteries had been created to be solved and shared with the world. In the end, it was how the humanity progressed - driven by the insatiable curiosity and desire to present their finding to others.

Alya had a soul of an explorer, a discoverer, always in pursuit of something unheard-of, something unknown and unexplored. She was easily possessed by her objectives, not seeing a thing around when she indulged herself into her research. Not knowing a secret always struck a nerve with her, driving her crazy until she found out the answers. A born reporter was she.

More often than not, she couldn't keep her mouth shut, and sometimes unintentionally let out a secret entrusted to her. Not once had she fallen out with others because of that.

Every time something like this happened, she was left with a painful feeling in her chest, which she unconsciously refused to accept. Instead, she convinced herself that people just didn't understand that she was not at fault, and secrets were meant to be disclosed no matter what.

Alya bit her lip, feeling hesitant for the first time in a while. Somehow, sharing this particular secret seemed wrong. What would become of Adrien's life if she announced his alter ego to the world? She had read enough of superhero comics to know that compromised identity could change everything, mostly for worse, sometimes causing a hero to give up his job as a defendant of justice.

Was she that kind of person to destroy someone's peace for the sake of her selfish desire for accomplishment? Was she ready to sacrifice someone for a petty self-satisfaction?

It was not easy to admit, but her ambition and one-tracked mindset when it came to unraveling the truth, had already hurt others in the past.

She pushed the guilt dwelling inside her back, rationalizing the situation at hand from the perspective of a reporter. Was she hundred percent certain, she saw Cat Noir detrasfrom? The longer she thought about it, the more unsure she became, doubt surfacing in her mind. She remembered an intense green light radiating from the male hero, the moment of a brownout as if her brain had shut down temporary, and then?

Alya furrowed her brows, she concentrated hard, trying to recall what she had witnessed next. Her brain refused to revive the events as if there was installed a blockage of some sort. Why was nothing clear anymore? There wasn't a trace of doubt in her mind just moments ago, but now she felt all her confidence leaving her.

The blogger shook her head aggressively, eager to get rid of whatever was clouding her judgment. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, relating the motion a few times until she calmed herself completely. Even though her mind was playing tricks on her, she knew deep down that Adrien Agreste was Cat Noir. She just knew.

No matter what, she could not publish such information without any evidence, putting trust in an irrational hunch was not a way a true reporter handled things. And so her next move was clear as a day: she had to talk with a subject of her speculations. She had to learn the truth before sharing her findings with the world, or she wouldn't be able to call herself a journalist.

She braced herself for what was inevitable if she wanted to stay true to the promise to herself. Saving a post she had written would be too much of a temptation that would torment her to publish it on the Ladyblog. Alya reached a decision, a new wave of determination rising in her chest, she took a sharp breath, clicked delete, and - her document was gone.

The blogger cursed quietly. It didn't feel right to ruin her own work. Too late for regrets now, she thought, clenching her fists, a new goal already on her mind. In that moment, Alya promised herself to reach out to Adrien the next day, in order to dispel any doubts and misunderstanding.

But as it turned out, talking to her classmates proved to be much more difficult than she had anticipated.


	3. Chapter 3: Playing cat and mouse

Chapter 3: Playing cat and mouse

 _Alya and Adrien play a clumsy game of tag where no one seems to win._

* * *

During class, there was usually one pair of eyes staring intently at Adrien's back, but for the last week, Alya had joined Marinette in The Obsessive Watching of Adrien Agreste. Her reason for observing the young model, however, couldn't be further from appraising the assets of his demeanor - like it had been in case of her best friend.

Alya wanted answers. She wasn't convinced, mind you, that staring at her classmate would suddenly enlighten her with them. Rather, it became her only option after a week full of fruitless efforts to confront Adrien.

One would think that being her classmate, he would have a hard time escaping Alya but it seemed she had a problem with securing his attention for even a minute. Whenever the blogger approached the model, he would engage in a conversation with someone or walk away to take care of something very important.

Alya had to admit that Adrien had been really smooth and clever in his ways of avoiding her. Those past few days he had been greeting her normally, he had been making a small talk when they were in a group, he even had explained a maths problem to her when she had asked him, hoping to steer the conversation towards a different subject.

Talking to Adrien without witnesses had turned out to be almost impossible. Firstly, he had Nino, who unknowingly assumed a role of his guardian and bodyguard, attached to his side all the time. Secondly, Chloe made sure to twirl around the model non-stop, whining to get his attention and creating a big spectacle out of it. And lastly, there was always someone watching him.

Adrien Agreste was constantly on the radar of the students of the Collège Françoise Dupont, serving as a somewhat of a school attraction. Even after those few months when he first started attending classes, people still asked him for autographs, still peered at him curiously like he was a very precious specimen. Still flung an unwanted attention at him. However, no one seemed to be too eager to make friends with him.

Why Alya hadn't the slightest idea. Was it because they idolized him and deemed him unapproachable? Did the well-known, prestigious model seem to be out of reach for a plain student?

It was certainly possible as Alya herself had thought about him in a similar manner at the beginning of a school year. Truth to be told, she didn't really regard him as anything else besides Marinette's potential boyfriend or Nino's best friend (of which she was quite ashamed).

Before the circumstances lead her to chase after Adrien she had never realized how many pairs of eyes were drilling into the model outside of the classroom, how people had been following his every move and gesture. She wondered whether he felt as an exhibition in a gallery or a monkey in the zoo.

Despite the growing feeling of pity for the blonde, Alya was becoming fed up with Adrien's tricks and sidesteps. Her patience had been tested for quite a while and the blogger didn't have a reputation for being a patient person. She balanced on the verge of explosion, which was hardly a good sign for those who were behind her frustration.

At that point, Alya started to regret deleting her article about Adrien being Cat Noir. She should have just posted it on her blog and watch the drama unfold. There would have been a hell to pay but at least she wouldn't have had to run in circles like she did now, trying to get the attention of Adrien Agreste.

The blogger sighed as she made her way towards the school gate, trailing after the swarms of students hurrying home. She wondered what could she possibly do to make her classmate talk to her. Of course, after she had noted the way Adrien was being followed, Alya concluded that school was hardly an adequate place to discuss secret identities. The only problem was that she couldn't confront him anywhere else as the young model had lived in a constant rush and under a mass of responsibilities and duties. Nino had once complained about how difficult it was for him to catch his _best buddy_ outside of school, and how _uncool_ it was that he didn't have time for anything besides working and studying.

"He needs to live a little, you know? He is going to grow old before he actually uses his youth to the fullest."

 _Well, Nino, maybe he is living a more exciting life than you are aware of,_ Alya thought, suddenly wondering whether Lahiffe knew his best friend was a wild cat superhero. She should corner the DJ to find out what he knew. Dealing with Nino was so much easier than talking to Adrien.

Just as she was thinking that she noticed the blonde model in front of the school gate, waiting for a limousine to pick him up. If that didn't look as a chance, Alya didn't know what did. She rushed forward, jumping of stone steps with surprising grace. She considered shouting out the blonde's name but it occurred to her that it could scare Adrien away. So she crept behind him silently until she stood beside her classmate.

"Wow, your driver takes his sweet time, doesn't he?" she spoke out of blue, making Adrien jump in surprise. She ignored his scared expression. "If it was my driver constantly running late, I would make him take care of my sisters for a week. Let lazy employees suffer!"

After recovering from the early shock, Adrien stepped away from Alya but smiled a little at her remark. "I'm afraid I don't have any siblings to torture the employees with. Working for my father seems like a punishment on its own, however."

The blogger eyed her classmate curiously. She couldn't guess whether he was joking or being serious. From what she heard about Gabriel Agreste (mostly from Nino), she understood he was a very strict and uncompromising man.

But would Adrien so readily admit that his father was not the nicest person in the world?

"I imagine it must be difficult to satisfy the demands of the CEO of Gabriel enterprise." Alya continued in light, conversational tone, trying to put the blonde at ease, to make him unsuspicious of her real objective.

"You have no idea." Adrien murmured in an almost inaudible whisper, suddenly looking down.

"Is it the reason why you keep running away and end up in some weird Parisian alleys?" Places, fire.

The model became still like a statue, frozen and speechless; awareness of Alya's real goal sinking in. He lifted his gaze and opened and closed his mouth a few times, resembling a fish out of the water. He felt so small under the intensity of blogger's look, who kept quiet, keeping him in place with her gaze.

Just then, as if to save Adrien from the tough spot he was in, his limousine appeared. The nervousness turned into relief at the sight of the black car. Not to give his classmate any chance to stop him, he quickly jumped into the vehicle, shutting the door close behind him. Before the car started, however, Adrien rolled the window down and said:

"I can take you with me to one of those alleys if you're so interested."

Alya blinked, shouted for him to wait, but was left in the dust of engine fumes. _That cheeky little..._

Such a coward - he wouldn't have been able to say such a thing to her face. Everyone could be so brave when protected by a bulletproof limousine. A hero. What a joke. Alya had seen a more courageous five-years-old.

Feeling her blood boil with anger, the blogger stomped vigourously into the direction of her apartment. This was what she got for acting noble and proper. Fighting against her instinct apparently was the worst decision she had ever made. She would forever dislike cats.

Black cats with an additional passion.

Alya took out her phone and pressed Marinette's number. When your life was falling to pieces call your best friend - it was an old folk wisdom, which always proved effective. When she heard young designer's voice on the other side of the line, she started talking rapidly and unnecessarily loud.

"You have a crush on such a jerk! He is not worth you Mari, okay? Please, fall in love with someone else! How about Nathaniel, or Max? Or maybe even Kim? No, wait, scratch that, he has an unhealthy obsession with Chloe. What about Nino? He is such a great guy..."

"Uhh, Alya?" Marinette had troubles stopping her friend's ridiculous monologue. "Don't you kind of have a crush on Nino yourself?"

"Doesn't matter, I can share." Alya shrugged, slowing her pace a little. "There's no rule saying you cannot crush on Nino. And you're missing a point by miles, Marinette. You need to uncrush on Adrien, immediately."

"Alya, what's wrong? You sound even crazier than I usually do." At this point, the designer was starting to worry about her friend. Normally, the brown hair girl displayed the symptoms of madness only when it came to superhero duo, not to her crush. Marinette was an expert in that field. "Did Adrien do something?"

"He dared to be cheeking me!" said Alya at once, almost tripping on her words. Being sassy was her forte, not unreasonably handsome models'.

There was a short-lived silence on her friend's side of the line until Marinette broke it with a burst of laughter, which made the blogger even more annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Alya." the designer managed to speak between her fits of laughter. "I just can't imagine it. Adrien is not really a cheeky person, is he?"

"But Cat Noir is!" exclaimed Alya in a voice that was a little too loud, a little too irritated.

"What does he have to do with Adrien?"

The blogger bit her lip, suddenly less confident, less angry. Her best friend sounded genuinely curious, but would she really consider her suspicion legitimate? Marinette always dismissed her excited speculations, which was hardly surprising, taking into account Alya's record of absurd surmises.

On the other hand, sharing her sus with her best friend could turn out beneficial. Having a companion while searching for more evidence would be comforting, and considering Marinette's interest in the certain model, she could acquire more information connecting him to superhero in black.

After a quick calculation in her head, Alya started hesitantly:

"Mari, how crazy would I sound if I said that Adrien is..." the rest of her sentence was jammed by the sudden screams and sounds of terror. Alya turned to the direction of the commotion and saw people running away from the creature of a height of two adults, with greenish skin. The attacker was holding a golden trident and a fishing net. Inside it there were at least three people, screaming for mercy.

"Girl, I'll call you back, there's an akuma before me. I need to get new footage. Love you!" Alya hung up before her friend could fully vocalize her protest, and started following the akumatized citizen. As much as excited she was about the chance to obtain fresh material for her blog, the blogger had to admit that the sight of the newest Hawkmoth's victim, made her skin crawl. The person had an oval scarred face curved into a frightening frown. His roars seemed to pierce the air and to knock down people who were fleeing in a hurry.

Alya crept behind the akuma, trying not to attract any attention to herself, her phone in hand recording every single move of a villain, who did not move too quickly, evidently slowed down by the "fish" he caught. The blogger restrained herself from providing any witty commentary, unusually careful not make any disastrous noise.

Adrenaline kicked in quickly, even though she was just following the akuma. For Alya, silent purloining was much more nerve-wracking than jumping head-on into danger. She just hadn't been born for anticipation.

With a sudden motion, the villain started turning around, and Alya had just a split of a second to react by taking cover behind the closest tree. From the akuma's chest lashed out a deafening roar that jolted buildings, sent shocks through the ground and laid civilians down. The blogger held tightly to the trunk, but still barely managed to avoid getting blown away. Her phone almost slipped through her hand which gave her a heart attack. Everything important in her life was stored in that little device!

(Everything except her family and friends, that was.)

Making sure the akuma was moving forward, Alya scrambled to her feet and resumed the spying mission. She couldn't wait for Ladybug and Cat Noir to arrive. Sadly, there was no superhero in sight, and the blogger started to wonder when something to heat up the atmosphere would happen.

As to answer her, Neptun (as Alya dubbed the villain) let out another ground-shaking roar, which sent cars and benches flying, stranding civilians in the process. Among them was a small boy, at whom the akuma was advancing in an attempt to catch him into his net.

Alya's legs moved before her brain registered what she was doing. She reached the boy and pulled him from underneath the objects, that were preventing his movements. She managed to push him to the side before the net covered her body and swallowed her.

The blogger blinked. She suddenly felt pain due to her back corrading with the pavement. It allowed her to process the situation she found herself in.

She had been caught by the akuma. Again.

Instead of feeling too concerned like every sane person would have, the blogger did the most Alya-ish thing she could have - she started live streaming the event onto her blog.

"Hey there Ladybloggers! Live from the newest villain's fishing net, it's Alya, covering the current akuma situation." she chattered happily, waving at the camera "There's no sight of our favorite superheroes yet, but there's no doubt they will arrive soon. In the meantime let's check how other victims are doing!" she changed her position and lumbered along to one of her fellow net-prisoners "Sir, would you share with Ladyblog followers under what circumstances were you kidnapped?"

The man looked at Alya strangely but seemed to be too unstrung by the incident to speak. That did not discourage the aspiring journalist in the slightest, and she proceeded to question other people, who all gazed at her as if she lost her mind.

All this excited twitter, angered Neptun causing him to drop the net with abductees. He leered at them, nearing his massive, scarred head in an attempt to silence his prisoners. However, he was the one who ended up recoiling, surprised by the sudden proximity of the blogger, who jumped forward almost sticking her phone into his face to get a better shot.

"Hello, Mr. Akuma. Can I address you per Neptun? That's rather a fitting name, don't you think? Anyway, would you like to share with us, what do you need this net for? Are you an ecologist or -"

Alya was cut off by a strong roar that caused her hair to fly in all directions creating a mess on her head. The blogger felt the akuma's saliva on her cheek, and clothes. _Yuck_ , she thought, completely disgusted. She hoped her phone was in better shape than her.

"Thank you for the exhaustive response," she muttered, wiping the mucus away.

The akuma swung his trident, ready to skewer Alya with it, when the red yo-yo hit him hard in the face, followed by the hard kick.

Before the net full of abductees, landed two superheroes, ready to destroy their opponent.

"That is the most hideous thing I have seen today." commented Cat Noir distasted.

"Probably because you haven't seen your hair in the mirror yet." said Ladybug offhandedly. She seemed annoyed, but there was no venom in her voice.

"Luckily, everyone beautifies with you around." superhero in black winked at her, not offended by his partner's remark.

Ladybug just rolled her eyes, and turned around to check on the abductees, and was greeted with the sight of messy Alya who was trying to clean her camera with her blouse hurriedly.

She decided then, it was best to defeat the akuma, without saying anything. She gestured to her companion to move forward, and they rushed into battle.

"Hey, Ladybug! Please release us from this net!" shouted someone.

She didn't even look back. "It's safer for you to stay there." _Especially for some people._ "Don't worry, it will be over quickly."

Alya was desolated. Being stuck in the net meant no further footage. Getting covered in saliva was for nothing apparently. No one understood the pains of being a reporter.

Like the heroine said, Paris's defendants defeated their opponent fast. Neptun might have been big and strong but agility or cleverness was not his fortes. Before the victims knew it, they were surrounded by magical sparkle and the entwining them net disappeared.

When Alya was about to get up, she saw an extended hand towards her. She took it and was hoisted to her feet, meeting very green eyes of Cat Noir.

They started at each other for a while, and the blogger suddenly remembered that behind this black mask might have been a face of Adrien Agreste.

The superhero must have seen something in her gaze then as he winked at her, and - was gone.

The second time that day, Alya wanted nothing more than to punch the blonde model in the face.

 **XXX**

It took Adrien a few days to fully recover from his pessimistic thoughts. He knew he had overreacted and his whole behavior had been both ridiculous and dramatic. He knew he had been acting in a way that drove Plagg insane. He knew it and he finally started to think rationally.

Yet, he still couldn't face Alya.

Whenever he saw her, he always backed away. Like a coward. He ran away from the persistent blogger who might have figured out his secret identity.

Not even that; he had been careless enough to allow her to find out.

Adrien felt as if he and Alya were playing some sick game of hide and seek. A game of cat and mouse, and, oh the irony, he was the mouse in that chase.

If it wasn't for Nino, behind whose back, he could always hide, Alya would have probably cornered him at some point. For once, he was grateful for Chloe's relish in overly affectionate sticking to his side.

Even though the DJ's presence had saved him from his classmate a lot, Nino wouldn't have been himself if he hadn't seen through Adrien. He had noticed that the model was trying very hard to avoid Alya and certainly hadn't thought about leaving the subject alone.

"Dude, what did Alya do to you? Do you want me to tell her to back off? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Sometimes it was hard to have such a perceptive and caring best friend.

Yet, when Alya approached him while he had been waiting for his chauffeur, he had wished for Nino by his side, with all his might.

The blogger caused all his fragile calm to break into thousand pieces. Had his limousine arrived any later he would have run away, or become a victim of Alya's wrath.

He still didn't know why he had called out to her, while the car left her in the dust. Maybe he went insane. Or he had a death wish.

Or maybe he was fed up with feeling useless, with feeling suffocated, with Alya holding his secret over him.

A new emotion pressured his consciousness turning into anger. Red and motivating.

He quite enjoyed experiencing it.

How happy he was when the akuma attacked. It gave him a chance to get rid of the stress, to relieve his anger.

He could see His Lady again.

Fighting against new villain was liberating. Landing a punch after a punch, parring, kicking - a dance in which Ladybug's and his souls were connecting, unifying against a mutual opponent. A unique kind of link, open only to him and His Lady.

He never got enough of adrenaline pulsing through his system.

As Cat Noir, he was free and brave. Not scared of anything or anyone. Not of his father and his rules. Not afraid of loneliness, or disappointment. Not of Alya.

He saw his classmate in the net among other abductees of the akuma, and couldn't help thinking _serves her right_. As soon as such thought appeared in his head, he immediately felt ashamed of it. He was a hero - heroes were not petty.

And so, after Miraculous Ladybug charm covered Paris in its magnificent glow, driven by guilt or pity, Adrien made his way towards Alya. She was still kneeling on the ground when he reached her. Her hair was a mess, and she looked a little bruised, despite Ladybug's powers.

He extended his hand, intending to help her to her feet. She accepted it. Their eyes met and they ended up staring at each other. Curiously, cagily.

She had very pretty eyes that gave away her intelligence and courage. Or recklessness. A mixture of both, probably.

In a blink, something in her gaze shifted and Adrien knew she might have remembered the last time she had seen Cat Noir. _Time to go_.

He felt himself smirk. He winked at her cheekily, disappearing before she got a chance to react.

It wasn't a time to be scared - it was time to act.

The next day, he approached her of his own initiative, which made her blink in surprise, then eye him suspiciously.

He asked her whether she wouldn't like any help with getting new footage. Why? Since the last time she had been caught and couldn't take shots of the real battle, he thought she may need some assistance. And since he had an ability to end up in weird Parisian alleys, his help might be indispensable.

She said yes. After a painfully long-lasting minute of her eying him suspiciously, she said yes.

He thought it might take much more time to convince her of his usefulness to her cause, but she said yes! Knowing Alya, she had a hidden agenda of her own in agreeing to his help, but it was Adrien's chance to sway his classmate away from suspecting him.

It just had to work.

Alya spotted Marinette and headed in her direction, telling him that they would talk about their operation during a longer break.

"Kid, are you out of your mind?" for once, Plagg was not napping due to overstuffing himself with cheese. "How are you planning to save the city when you will be taking pictures of superheroes? Oh wait, of one superheroine." he said flatly.

Well, Adrien hadn't thought that far.

"I don't know Plagg." he admitted reluctantly "But I know I can't continue running away."

 **XXX**

If on that particular day someone asked Alya what she thought of Adrien Agreste she would let a long groan of frustration and say that he was the most confusing human being she had ever encountered.

He had been acting around her like a startled sheep for the longest time only to approach her and offer help with her blog. She was so astonished by his proposal that she forgot to punch his pretty face (and it had been such a beautiful vision that lulled her to sleep the previous night).

Alya's mind went into overdrive as she started calculating her options and thinking of Adrien's real objective in his plan. _What is your goal, pretty boy? Do you want to confuse me?_

The blogger could tell something was off with the model's offer. His behaviour changed too quickly for her to believe in the genuineness of his motives. On the other hand, if Adrien helped her with footage hunting she would know for sure whether he was Cat Noir or not. He couldn't be in two places at once. With a little luck, she would end this hopeless paper chase during next akuma attack.

"Very well." she said slowly, observing Adrien's reaction carefully. "Be prepared my young apprentice for a dangerous yet thrilling adventure. Footage hunting is not for amateurs!" Alya waved her hand exaggeratedly, smirking at the model, who brighten up instantly. She then spotted Marinette, who was gawking at her converser. "We'll talk about our strategy during the long break. See you later!"

She then approached her friend, who had the goofiest smile on her round face. "What were you talking with Adrien about?"

"He asked about my last post. Wanted to know if I was okay." she shrugged, not feeling guilty about her white lie.

What she said sent Marinette into a series of squeals. She started gushing about Adrien's kind heart and whatnot - Alya had tuned out her friend's adorable blabber, choosing to concentrate on catching one sneaky black cat.

However, as it usually turned out for Alya's plans, Hawkmoth decided not to cause a ruckus for more than a week, effectively preventing her from achieving her goal.

For the blogger, it felt like eternity without any excitement or purpose. Once again she had been stalled by circumstances and it didn't sit well with the short-tempered teenager.

Having noticed her grumpiness, Mylene and Marinette decided to take their friend for ice creams. Alya appreciated their efforts to cheer her up, but her mood remained down in the dumps. When the trio decided to head to Dupain-Cheng's bakery, the blogger's prayers were answered in a form of a teddy bear akuma.

She split up with her friends, rushing to capture the fight with her camera. She dialed Adrien's number, following the plan she and the blonde had formed the previous week, only to be greeted by the voicemail. She tried again but to no avail.

Alya rolled her eyes, not really surprised by the lack of response from her classmate. Noticing the appearance of Ladybug she sprinted towards the akuma, which meant the opposite direction from other citizens fleeing the scene.

Cat Noir joined the fight soon enough, and the superhero duo quickly gained the upper hand over the cutest akuma in the history of akumas. For once, Alya got perfect shots of the clash - getting adequate angles was not difficult this time and the blogger was ecstatic about the battle, commenting everything gleefully.

"And with the well-aimed punch Ladybug knocks out Teddy Bear. It's an undisputable K.O!" the teenager exclaimed, blurring the vision of her video a little because of her uncontrolled movements of joy.

After the Miraculous Ladybug Charm got rid of every akuma-related damage, Alya strode towards superheroes, waving at them frantically. "Ladybug, Cat Noir, do you have a minute for a quick interview?"

Paris's defendants shared a look and nodded at the blogger, who couldn't hide her beaming smile. "For such a long time with no akuma attack, Hawkmoth didn't try too hard with Teddy Bear, now did he?" she asked, winking at her idols.

Ladybug snorted and Cat Noir smirked. "I could get used to fighting such adorable akumas, to be honest."

"I would prefer for Hawkmoth to take some well-deserved holidays." The superheroine sighed, massaging her temples. "I could use a break myself."

Alya shot the superhero in black a sly look. "What do heroes do in their spare time? Are you playing the part of _model_ citizens, trying to blend in with us, normal people?"

Cat Noir laughed and grabbed Ladybug's shoulder. "I don't know about My Lady, but I do love a good nap in my free time. Laying in the warm sunlight is the best thing ever."

"So there's no chance this lazy Cat would like to try something new? Like modeling, for example?" Alya raised her eyebrow at the unchanging carefree demeanour of the black superhero.

"Sure! I would be the greatest swimsuit model! Don't you think my Lady?" Cat Noir winked at Ladybug who just rolled her eyes.

Alya was about to fire another shot when a message got her attention. It was a text from Adrien Agreste.

The blogger looked in disbelief between her phone and the cat superhero. It didn't make sense. Cat Noir stood in front of her, giving an interview but in the same moment, she got a text from Adrien.

The same person who was supposed to be the wild cat hero.

Whatever happened, confused her so much that she let her idols go without complaint, which never happened as she would sooner eat her phone than allow the superheroes to escape her easily.

The message she received contained an apology, something about having a fencing class and not knowing about the akuma attack. Alya typed a reply, and she quickly received another text from the model.

Something was off.

 _Well, Adrien, I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm not buying this jiggery-pokery of yours._

The similar situation had happened again and again. Adrien hadn't appeared at the akuma battle scene, always excusing himself with many extracurriculars.

Alya didn't believe in his stories at all, so she cornered him during school hours. The boy was apologetic, and shot her a sad look full of guilt, almost as if he was genuinely sorry for not helping her with her chase.

"I would love to help, but I have so many extracurriculars. Hawkmoth is not considerate of my tight schedule at all." He sighed, smiling wistfully, and Alya would be lying if she said she was not affected by the way the corner of his lips turned up. His expression almost convinced her of his sincerity. Almost.

"I just don't understand why would you offer your help if you knew you don't have much time to spare." said Alya, not really irked but not completely calm either.

Adrien averted his gaze, his cheeks reddening adorably. "You have so many interactions with Ladybug thanks to your hobby so... I thought that if I helped you I would also be able to talk to her..." his voice got lower with every word he spoke, his embarrassment growing.

That was something the blogger had not expected. At all.

"You are a Ladybug fan?" she asked not bothering to hide the surprise in her exclamation.

The green eyes met hazel ones and Alya knew that he was telling the truth. She felt the whisper of excitement on her skin. A fellow Ladybug fan.

"If that is the case, we can't give up, can we?" her statement brought an interestingly weird expression on the model's face, and she had to muffle her laughter building in her throat. "Shall we meet up and match our plan with your timetable?"

She could probably ask Marinette about their classmate's schedule but she didn't want to feel like a crazy person - acquiring such information behind his back.

Adrien smiled so brightly, the blogger could swear that at that moment the Sun came to Earth in a presence of a boy. It was a blindingly charming view.

"Actually, today I have a free evening. Would you mind coming over to my house?" He seemed like he wanted to add something but stopped himself., suddenly looking embarrassed.

Alya had no objections. She was a little curious about the decor of Agreste Mansion. Marinette would enjoy hearing about it too.

They decided to meet at around six o'clock.

And so, Alya found herself staring at the intimidating gate guarding the entrance to the house of Adrien Agreste.

It was not the first time she visited the place - she had spent at least a couple of minutes in front of the mansion before Marinette decided to leave their classmate's birthday present - yet coming here alone felt a tiny bit like a challenge.

Alya let out a breath and rung the doorbell. The stern feminine voice greeted her and instructed to state her business. Soon, she was walking through the patio, she remembered from the Bubbler party, into the grand hall.

As soon as she stepped inside the mansion she could feel the coldness on her skin. It was as if the marbles were glaring at her, sending shivers down her spine. As if in their glassy splendor they were touching her with ghastly freezing hands. The hall gave the impression of a carefully crafted marble cage.

It was dreadfully disconcerting.

In contrast to the overall coolness of the decor, Adrien's voice, when he greeted her, was full of warm kindness, of glittering amiability. The spring wind was winnowing snow in the hallway.

Her classmate ran to her down the stairs, gracing her with a welcoming smile. "My father is not home and I told Nathalie that we have a project to make." It wasn't a lie technically. It just wasn't school project.

The blonde led her through the mansion to his room, and Alya felt awfully out of place in her simple plaid shirt and worn-out jeans. The whole mansion was richly adorned, and full of dazzling splendor. It was positively the most gorgeous living space in Paris, yet its lavishness was raw and unpleasant.

Entering Adrien's room, Alya knew she had to remember as much as she could. She did not want to spare any detail for when she would be relating the story to Marinette. All her focus disappeared quickly as she was gawking at the unusualness of the place. _Who has a climbing wall in one's room? Wait, is that a ramp? Adrien skateboards?_

"Make yourself comfortable. I brought us tea and croissants." He gestured towards a table where porcelain teacups were neatly arranged. "Do you prefer black or green tea? Or maybe you would like some coffee or water?"

"Tea is more than enough, thank you." Alya smiled awkwardly at his eagerness to please her.

They sat down and talked about nothing in particular, sipping their tea. The blogger was very aware of the value of a teacup she was holding. She made sure to handle it with as little pressure as she could. Somehow, she had a hunch she would not be able to afford to pay for it if she broke it. _Do they not use nice solid mugs in here?_

Alya wanted to cut to the chase and form a plan that would allow Adrien to interview Ladybug for her blog, but the expression on her classmate's face prevented her from doing so. The blonde seemed overjoyed to have her over and she couldn't bring herself to change the topic.

Was Adrien as lonely as Nino said? Alya had thought that the DJ was blowing things out of proportions, but maybe she had been ignorant?

"Thanks for coming. I am really happy that you want to help me talk to Ladybug. Everyone knows she has a soft spot for you." said Adrien suddenly, making Alya blush furiously.

It was true that the superheroine seemed to like her, but the blogger would not go as far as to say Ladybug had a soft spot for her. That was ridiculous. Nevertheless, the mere thought of such a possibility made Alya's heart beat so fast, she could hear her blood pumping.

They discussed different scenarios of engaging Ladybug into a conversation with Adrien and went over his overly cramped timetable. _When does that guy sleep?_

In the midst of their animated discourse, Alya remembered what led to this weird situation of her chattering in the Agreste Mansion, in the first place.

Her chest grew heavy with the suspicion that her fruitless chase would continue forever. If she wanted answers she would have to mend her prime mistake - straying from her policy that honesty was the solution for everything.

Silently, she made a mental list of pros and cons of such an approach and felt a new wave of determination rising. It was now or never kind of situation, and Alya always preferred now.

Steadying herself, she cut Adrien off mid-sentence. "Listen, Adrien, there's something I want to ask you." The blonde smiled encouragingly at her, not suspecting the graveness of her question.

"Are you Cat Noir?"

In a split of a second, the smile on Adrien's face was replaced with the look of sheer horror and panic. The blogger focused her gaze on him, crumpling a guilty feeling stubbornly.

The mouse found itself in a pitfall with no escape in sight. There was no evading vigilant eyes of a determined predator.

The silence between two classmates was so long and heavy that Alya thought she would get no answer. However, suddenly, Adrien hid his face in his hands and let a resigned, desperate cry.

"Yes. I am." he said so quietly, the brown-haired girl could have imagined it. "Please, don't tell anyone."

Alya's mood changed instantly - she was on her feet, too excited to sit still. She was right all this time! Adrien Agreste was a superhero. What amazing news was that?

Her mind was crowded with so many questions she wanted to ask her classmate, she didn't notice the blonde observing her fearfully.

"Alya, can you keep it a secret?" he said pleadingly.

The blogger looked at him as if he was the craziest person in the world. "I am not very good at that, but I will try my best." Such an answer did not satisfy Adrien at all.

"You know, just forget about what I said. It's best for both of us if you pretend you don't know that I am Cat Noir."

"Are you insane?" Alya exclaimed loudly. "How am I suppose to do that? This is the biggest scoop of the century! The famous model is, in fact, a wild superhero in black! Wait, do you know who Ladybug is?" she asked, hopeful.

Adrien shook his head. "We keep our identities a secret. And it should stay this way."

Alya was not convinced, but she decided to let it slide for now. "So how did you become a superhero?"

Her question was left unanswered, however, as Adrien called Nathalie to show his classmate the door, excusing himself with work he had to do.

Alya's curiosity was hardly sated, but Adrien did not spare her another glance.

 **XXX**

If Alya had thought things couldn't get more awkward between her and Adrien she was gravely mistaken.

To say the atmosphere between them had been tense would be an understatement of a month.

The blonde model could hardly look his blogger classmate in the eyes, and when he did, his face assumed the expression of pain and sorrow so heartbreaking that Alya wanted to go back in time and prevent herself from chasing after Cat Noir.

All the brief excitement she had felt evaporated into thin air and the teenager started to worry. What if she couldn't keep her mouth shut and would end up blabbering Adrien's secret? Contrary, to her dismissing answer to his plea, she was concerned about keeping Cat Noir's identity from the rest of Paris. In the end, she didn't want her classmate to get hurt. _Too late for that._

She was also wondering whether Ladybug could also be someone she was familiar with. If the cat superhero was attending her school, maybe the heroine was too. That history book might have been a clue after all.

Alya lay on her bed, trying to think of what to do next. The most logical solution would be to talk to Adrien and make amends. On the other hand, the last time she wanted to speak to him, they had ended up playing an endless game of hide and seek.

And she was sick of that.

The blogger felt guilty about her reaction to Adrien's revelation. She should have been more mindful of the blonde's feelings.

She grabbed her phone, thinking of texting Nino. He would be able to help her apologize to Adrien. Maybe she could get him a small gift and write an apology letter? That way the model could make the decision on his own if he wanted to talk to her or not. She would not invade his comfort zone this time.

Her musing was interrupted by a soft knocking sound. Alya got up, startled a little.

"Mum, is that you?" she asked, looking for a source of the noise. There was no one at her door. She moved to inspect the window and -

Her gaze met a pair of glowing green eyes.

* * *

Author's Note:

I had so much trouble with this chapter. I rewrote it many times, yet I am still not fully satisfied with how it turned out. Still, I have decided to post it, as I can't move with the story.

Despite my mixed thoughts, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, still.

Thank you for reading and have a great day :)

 **Next time** : midnight Paris strolls and some heart to hearts.


	4. Chapter 4: Let's call a cat a cat

_In which the eager reporter and the jittery cat find a common ground by soaring over Paris._

After Alya had left, Adrien wanted nothing more than to cover himself in blankets and never go out (which he had done for an hour, listening to Coldplay's _Fix you_ on repeat).

He had let her catch him off guard.

He should have known better than to relax around his strong-willed classmate, yet he thought he had her confused with his fake texts. He had hoped Alya's focus had shifted to helping him talk to Ladybug, but she had turned out to be much more single-minded than the blonde could have anticipated.

He also might have enjoyed talking to her too much to be concerned with his secret identity. It had felt wonderful to have someone over, to talk about everything and nothing at the same time.

It had felt as if he has had friends. And it was nothing but exhilarating.

But then again, the reality had to remind him that having friends was only a most marvelous vision.

To Adrien, Alya was a hurricane, a typhoon of might and blazing strength that he didn't know how to handle. Her bluntness threw him off, left him in an ominous daze he couldn't shake off.

Her confronting him directly had been to be anticipated yet the blonde secretly wished she would have let sleeping dogs lie. How naive of him.

To make matters worse, he had to straight out admit he was Cat Noir. Who acted so foolishly? He should have laughed it off, act as if she had been misguided by some fake lead.

Having spilled his secret had been the worst option ever. Why was he always making mistakes so grand?

To take his mind off of his blunders, Adrien started doing his Chinese homework. It was not helping. At all.

He scribbled some nonexisting words on the page, only to be interrupted by Plagg who sat on his notebook, looking fairly malcontent. "Yes, it is truly a splendid idea to banish a person you have just let on your secret." said black kwami sarcastically. He only used more of a flowery language when providing very sarcastic comment or his patience was tested.

"Brooding shall solve all your problems, I am quite sure."

Adrien let out a groan of frustration. He was so not in the mood for Plagg's jibes.

"What should I do?" he asked looking at the cat kwami with sadness. "All I do is ruin everything."

Plagg fixed his Chosen with a glare. "Isn't it the perfect opportunity to gain a new friend? She may be a little too loud and nosy, but she could be your comrade. A partner in crime."

The blonde looked at him thoughtfully. Alya had hundreds of questions about Cat Noir and superheroes. Being her friend would mean telling her everything about his Miraculous, and Adrien wasn't sure whether he was comfortable with the idea. Her knowing his alter ego was one thing, but sharing all the secrets and mysteries about his powers meant to trust. Their relation, however, was as far from mutual dependence as possible.

The black kwami noticed his wavering and flew up to meet his eyes. He plonked his Chosen's nose softly.

"You don't have to do anything you're not at ease with. Every new relation starts with setting boundaries and getting to know the other person. Friendship doesn't equal selling yourself. It comes with a full package of your joys, sorrows, and fears." Seeing Adrien's surprise, Plagg turned his back to the blonde, feeling embarrassed. Motivational speeches were far outside his comfort zone. "Just give it a try, okay?"

Adrien blinked. Even though he was still full of soggy worry he felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his heart. Plagg not only was not angry at him but also supported him and his desire to make friends.

The black kwami could have been a handful at times and a full-time couch potato, but he was irreplaceable. Adrien could not imagine losing him.

It was partly why he had been in such a panicked frenzy ever since he had stumbled upon Alya while detransforming.

He had been afraid of being stripped from his right to be a Miraculous Holder. That would not only mean losing his newly gained freedom as a roguish superhero but also separating from Plagg. The mere thought of such a possibility made Adrien hyperventilate.

The black kwami probably wouldn't like to hear it but the blonde considered him his best friend. Knowing that Plagg was always by his side allowed the model to sleep soundly at night. The small, yet vivid presence of the kwami eased his nerves and steadied him whenever his father's broken promises made him fall down.

Adrien's heart was full of love for this grumpy ball of fluff that Plagg was.

"Hey, how about we go down to the kitchen and raid the fridge from cheese?" The blonde asked smiling softly.

"Sounds like my kind of plan."

 **XXX**

 _It's a terrible idea. My God, it's such a terrible idea._

Plagg's encouragement spurred Adrien into action. The teenager decided to clear the air with Alya, and calmly explain to her why keeping his identity secret was important. Only, it made much more sense while he was formulating a plan in his room.

Now, standing in front of his classmate's apartment complex, transformed into Cat Noir, Adrien doubted reasonability behind his scheme.

How weird would it be if he rung a doorbell and demanded to see her? _Super weird, even for you Adrien._

What about appearing on her balcony during the night? _That's just creepy._

What were even the chances she would like to talk to him after he had chased her away from his house? _She will probably bite my head off._

Adrien rolled his eyes at himself. Here he went again: acting cowardly and letting his anxieties get the best of him. Well, maybe paying his classmate a surprise visit in the middle of the night was not the brightest idea, but the blonde knew he would not be able to sleep tonight was he to left things unresolved.

With a graceful leap, he landed on the balcony and peeked inside Alya's room. The light was on, but she was lying on her bed, deep in thought. Her place was full of Majestia merchandise, just like he remembered from that one time when he and Ladybug wanted to recruit the blogger for their akuma-diversion-plan.

 _It's fine, superheroes pay unexpected visits to some civilians. It's not a big deal_ , Adrien thought, convincing himself that he was _not_ acting like a creep. He took a breath and stilled himself before knocking softly on the window.

Alya got up startled by the noise. She moved around trying to find a source of the noise. She checked the door and then looked towards the window only to meet his eyes.

The superhero thought for a second that she would scream but she just gaped at him, flabbergasted. The blogger opened the window door carefully, probably not sure if what she was seeing was real.

Adrien grinned toothily, bowing slightly but as always dramatically. "I did hear a gossip meowed around that a certain Ladyblogger demanded an interview with this Cat."

Alya seemed just as surprised at his casual attitude just as she was hesitant to answer. "Adrien... I mean Cat Noir, what are you doing here?"

"You don't want to go for a stroll, do you? We could get out of the house, see the world." the hero gestured towards the city in a princely manner.

Having recognized the lines, Alya smiled broadly. "Is it safe?"

"Of course not! Who do you take me for?" Adrien huffed, shaking his head. He focused his eyes on the blogger, extending his hand towards her. "Do you trust me?"

"We shall see, Kitty Kat." said the girl, ruining the dramatic narrative. She accepted his hand, which allowed him to lift her up.

Cat Noir smiled, securing his grip around Alya. He pulled out his staff preparing for a long jump. "Hold on tight!" said Adrien and without further notice, he pounced into the abyss below.

The first thing the blogger registered was a violent blow of wind in her hair and face, then the too rapidly approaching ground. For a second she thought they were going to collide -

And then they were soaring again. Over and over again.

Alya felt as if she was flying.

They moved from rooftop to rooftop in graceful but enormous leaps. Underneath them spread Paris with all its lights, busy streets and small shady alleys. The view was mesmerizing.

Covered in the dark cloak of the night, Adrien and Alya were gliding over the city, watched only by bright stars. The cool air nestled their faces sending shivers through their limbs. The blogger couldn't help letting out a salvo of giggles, revealing her bubbling excitement.

Hearing her laugh, the superhero grinned and whooped not too faintly. Soon, they were both screaming like they'd gone mad, trying to outyell one another, not really caring about disturbing quiet hours.

In the stillness between sky and earth, a mystery lurked awaiting its discoverer. The aura of novelty and growing bond hung as a promise from the future. The night discarded its dark attire briefly, opting for something brighter for a change.

Adrien guided them through this peaceful scenery of Paris at night. As they passed each corner of the City of Lights, they left a delirious trail of yells and cheers behind, breaking the serenity of the citizens. They were a force of nature, a might of fire, a volume of thunder.

No one, not even the duo, knew the impact their acquaintance would soon leave on the world.

When they arrived at the small park lit by dim lanterns, their giggles were still alive creating a symphony of joy. After landing safely on the solid ground Adrien twirled and bowed making his classmate laugh harder.

"That certainly was a whole new Paris kind of ride." said Alya, singing 'a whole new part' of her sentence. "Seven out of ten, for the lack of the flying carpet.'

The blonde gasped horrified. "I knew I was forgetting something! Do not fear my fair blogger, I shall mend my ways and become a proper Alladin."

"Does that include dying your hair black?"

"I guess my Alladin interpretation will be lacking after all," said Adrien, disgusted at the prospect of messing with his hair color. He liked it light and blonde. Like his mother's.

Smiling at him, Alya walked a few feet away, admiring the night scenery. He followed her with his gaze, not being able to get rid of the warm and fuzzy feeling exploding in his chest.

"So... Is there a reason you took me here?" she asked curiously. "Is this a plot to get me mugged? I do advise not to try anything too shady. I have the power of the internet at my command, you know?"

Responding with a witty comment was the first thing that came to his mind, but he stopped himself from speaking. There would be time for fun and humor after they have talked over the recent events. _Hopefully_.

Adrien bit his lip nervously. His hands suddenly became cold and his throat dry. A dreadful feeling surrounded his consciousness but he fought it back.

"Which is what we need to talk about, actually." he started hesitantly, cautiously. "First of all, I apologize for chasing you out of my house. It was rude of me. You caught me off guard and my flee reaction kicked in. And since it was my room I had nowhere to run so you had to go..." Adrien trailed off, trying to gather his mess of thoughts into logical sentences.

Alya was observing her classmate, her face morphed into a mask of uneasiness. She closed the distance between them searching for Cat Noir's gaze. For one intangible second, the world of sorrow and hurt spilled from his green eyes into the darkness of a night, encircling Alya like a snake which venom found the way into her system.

The sensation was gone so soon it could have been a trick, a tease of a nightime.

Unconsciously, the blogger reached out to touch Adrien's shoulder, spooking him a little with a sudden physical contact. "I am not going to tell anyone your secret. I promise."

Cat Noir blinked, baffled by her statement, but the corners of his mouth lifted in a weak attempt of a smile. Was he so easy to read?

Alya seemed to realize her mistake and instantly backed off, waving her hand slowly. "I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself. Please, continue."

There was a brief silence broken by the boy's curt humorless laugh. He shook his head, an understanding dawning on him. He would never be able to win against Alya. She was too sharp, too impulsive. Plagg had been right from the start - she would have been a valuable ally. The problem was: would Adrien be able to handle her?

As Cat Noir, he was an unpredictable force of impulse and cheekiness. He was as quick-witted and brave as Alya. A superhero in black would be able to keep up with her.

However, Adrien was unsure of his own strengths and social interactions. He was too submissive, too easily spooked.

Would Alya even want to befriend him? _One way to find out,_ _right_ _?_

"You can't tell anyone about my identity. It's supposed to be a secret. If it ever got out, my father, Nino and our classmates could all be in danger."

Adrien was observing Alya's reaction but she just stood in place, wearing an uneasy expression on her face.

"I understand it may be an exciting scoop, but there's too much risk involved. Secret identities not only protect us heroes but also our loved ones. So, please, keep this information to yourself." he said with a plead tangible in his voice, counting on her empathy to win over the stubborn reporter-self.

Alya closed the distance between them so she could look into his eyes.

"I am not going to tell anyone, I promise you." she said with such a conviction almost as if she was trying to convince herself more than him.

"I can be hot-headed and opinionated but I didn't mean to be a jerk. I never do, it just comes naturally..." Adrien couldn't help laughing and Alya pursed her lips in a disapproving manner.

"You are ruining my apology, you know? Who's being a jerk now?"

Grinning cheekily, the superhero in black remarked, "Oh? That was an apology? Could have fooled me."

The blogger punched his arm lightly. "You didn't let me finish! Now zip it and listen!"

"Yes, ma'am! Whatever you say, ma'am!" Cat Noir saluted, imitating a soldier ready to take orders.

"You are being ridiculous!" Alya snorted trying very hard not to laugh. She took one breath, then another as if to compose herself. "I am sorry for being so obnoxious and nosey. But to my defense, I was after the interview that day, not your secret identity. I just had the worst timing for you..."

Realizing that she started rambling, she shook her head and touched Adrien's shoulder. "I promise not to tell your secret. To anyone. I will keep it despite my inner reporter want to murder me for it. Aaand I am the one ruining the apology now."

"I think it was a beautiful apology. It 's been officially accepted just now." Cat Noir smiled at the girl warmly but moved out of her reach. It was all too much for him already.

"Let's shake on it!" Alya exclaimed suddenly. Meeting his confused gaze she added, "To show that there're no hard feelings between us?"

Adrien looked at her extended hand, hesitating only for a second. He met her palm in a firm handshake and they grinned at one another happily.

For a moment the air between them was clear and free, set for a brand new beginning.

"So, you really don't know who Ladybug is?" Only for a moment though.

Seeing Cat's incredulous expression, Alya laughed her statement off as a bad joke, making a mental note to ask him about it one day. For now, however, she was willing to lay her curiosity to rest and focus on building trust between her and her gentle classmate who held a surprising secret.

"Have you ever watched a movie _Midnight in Paris_?" the blogger asked, a cunning smirk appearing on her face.

Adrien shot her a curious look. "I have. Why are you asking?"

Alya's features gleamed with mischief and excitement. "I've always wanted to find that car that takes people to the past. And as it's almost midnight, wouldn't you say it's the best moment to search for it?"

Cat Nor perked up. "I have so many questions I want to ask Hemingway. For example why _The Old Man and the_ _S_ _ea_ has no action whatsoever."

"Sounds like you didn't get the meaning behind this novel at all" Alya smirked. "Also, he was such a grump. Not the best interlocutor for you."

"I have a soft spot for jerks." Adrien winked at his companion and suddenly exclaimed, "The last one to the stairs is a rotten egg!"

He was off at an amazing speed, leaving the flabbergasted blogger in the dust. "Hey!"

Alya was not the type to quit or loose so she dashed after the cat superhero as quickly as her not-equipped-with-super-powers-legs allowed her to run.

They raced through alleys of Paris, making so much ruckus and noise that the exhausted citizens started dialing the police, mistaking them for some hooligans.

However, karma caught up with them when they almost had a run in with very angry and very drunk party-goers. Adrien had to grab Alya before she got herself involved into a fight and carried her to the spot known from the movie.

They barely had time to steady their breaths when the clock struck midnight. They looked at one another and immediately dispersed to look for the magical car that would take them to the previous epoch.

The teenagers shouted into the void of the night as if they were searching for a lost person, coming up with ridiculous calls in the process. When Alya called out "here-kitty-kitty-kitty ", Adrien shot her an offended look and started chasing her.

They ended up near Saine, breathless from all the running they did, but with hearts full of joy and carefree feelings. For Cat Noir, it was the best moment he had in a while. He really didn't want it to end.

Alya smiled brightly at her classmate, which almost dulled the sadness her next words brought him. "As much fun as I am having right now, I should probably get back home. I'd hate for my parents to freak out if they had a sudden urge to check up on me."

Adrien nodded, agreeing to her logic despite the small ache in his chest. It must have been nice having a family that cared so much about each other.

"We should continue our search another day, though. I still want to meet Gertrude Stein. With her help I could become the greatest writer of our times!" the blogger ranted animatedly.

"You are a pretty good writer already." Adrien whispered but his voice was lost in the volume of girl's excited squeals. "Okay, Miss Dreamer, ready to be carried home by this charming superhero?"

She nodded solemnly. "Yes, but on one condition."

That was not the answer Cat Noir anticipated. Not in the slightest. He probably should get used to Alya being unpredictable. "Which is?"

"You have to sing _A whole new world_ with me!" the blogger exclaimed, pointing her finger at him. Seeing his lack of adequate reaction, she shook her head, annoyed that she had to explain herself yet again. "We started this trip with that song, it's only logical we end it the same way."

After a few moments of Adrien's hesitation and Alya's encouragement, and threats of walking home alone, the blonde finally complied. His cheeks turned a dark shade of pink as he let his voice carry the tune softly.

Momentarily, the blogger was captivated by the sound which filled the night air. _Of course, he can sing too! Is there anything he can't do?_

Surprised by his singing abilities she allowed Cat Noir to secure a grip around her and carry them high up, into the sky. She could imagine them going on a carpet ride, alright.

Waiting for Jasmine part to come in, Alya joined in with her own singing voice, and soon their high-pitched falsettos interrupted the peace of Paris once again.

* * *

Finally! They had a meaningful conversation?! It only took 4 chapters. It's nothing, am I right, or what?

Please, share your thoughts with me on the story so far. Is the pace too slow and you're getting bored, or you've been enjoying slow character development? Any insight and tips will be appreciated and helpful! (Just try not to stress my delicate writer's soul too much). (Also, can someone tell me how to improve dialogue-writing! I need help!)

As always, thank you for reading and a big hug for those who leave comments! It means a lot! :D


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